TiVo digital video recorders

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TiVo digital video recorders encompass a number of digital video recorder (DVR) models that TiVo, Inc. designed. Features may vary, but a common feature is that all of the units listed here require TiVo service and use its operating system.

TiVo units have been manufactured by various OEMs, including Philips, Sony, Pioneer, Toshiba, and Humax. Cisco Systems and Samsung joined forces with pay TV Provider Virgin Media (UK-only) to create the Virgin Media TiVo box. The OEMs license the software from TiVo Inc.

To date, there have been six "series" of TiVo units produced, with the six series, the Bolt, released in October 2015.

TiVo DVR models

Series1

Type Manufacturer Model Capacity Notes
Hours GB
Standalone Philips HDR110 14 14 First model, March 31, 1999
HDR112 14 14
HDR212 20 22
HDR310 30
HDR312 30 2x14
HDR31201
HDR31202
HDR31203
HDR31204		 30 30
HDR612 60 2x30
Sony SVR2000 30 30 Custom remote control RMT-V303
Thomson PVR10UK 40 2x20 UK-only, uses SCART input/output
DirecTV Philips DSR6000 35 40
Sony Sat-T60 35 40 Custom remote control RM-Y809
Hughes GXCEBOT 35 40

The Series1 (retronym) was the original TiVo digital video recorder.

Series1 TiVo systems are based on PowerPC processors connected to MPEG-2 encoder/decoder chips and IDE/ATA hard drives. Series1 TiVo units used one or two drives of 13–60 GB. Although not supported by TiVo or equipment manufacturers, larger drives can be added.

Series1 standalone

All standalone TiVo systems have coax/RF-in and an internal cable-ready tuner, analog video input—composite/RCA, and S-Video—for use with an external cable box or satellite receiver. The TiVo unit can use a serial cable or IR blasters to control the external receiver. They have coax/RF, composite/RCA, and S-Video output, and the DVD systems also have component out. Audio is RCA stereo, and the DVD systems also have digital optical out.

Series1 DirecTV

Some TiVo systems are integrated with DirecTV receivers. These "DirecTiVo" recorders record the incoming satellite MPEG-2 digital stream directly to hard disk without conversion. Because of this and the fact that they have two tuners, DirecTiVos are able to record two programs at once. In addition, the lack of digital conversion allows recorded video to be of the same quality as live video. DirecTiVos have no MPEG encoder chip, and can only record DirecTV streams.

Series2

Type Manufacturer Model Capacity Notes
Hours GB
Standalone TiVo/AT&T TCD130040 40 40 USB 1.1
TCD230040 40 40
TiVo TCD230040 40 40
TCD240040 40 40
TCD24004A 40 40
TCD540040 40 40
TCD140060 60 60 USB 1.1
TCD240080 80 80
TCD24008A 80 80
TCD540080
TCD542080		 80 80
TCD240140 140 120
TCD540140 140 120
TCD649080 80 80 Dual-tuner
TCD649180 180 160 Dual-tuner
Pioneer DVR-810H 80 80 DVD Recorder
DVR-57H 120 120 DVD Recorder
Toshiba SD-H400 80 80 DVD Player
RS-TX20 120 120 DVD Recorder
RS-TX60 160 160 DVD Recorder
Humax T800 80 80
T2500 300 250
DRT400 40 40 DVD Recorder
DRT800 80 80 DVD Recorder
Sony SVR3000 80 80
DirecTV Hughes HDVR2 35 40
HDVR3 35 40
SD-DVR40 35 40
SD-DVR80 70 80
SD-DVR120 100 120
Philips DSR7000 35 40
DSR704 35 40
DSR708 70 80
RCA DVR39 35 40
DVR40 35 40
DVR80 70 80
Samsung SIR-S4040R 35 40
SIR-S4080R 70 80
SIR-S4120R 100 120
DirecTV R10 70 80
HR10-250 200 250 High definition, both satellite and terrestrial (OTA ATSC tuner)
Front view of a Series2 TCD540040 TiVo unit
Back view of a Series2 TCD540040 TiVo unit

The Series2 was a complete redesign of the TiVo hardware. It includes USB ports (for Ethernet and Wi-Fi adapters), a new CPU, and more RAM. The availability of network connectivity has spread to the software side, where new features like TiVoToGo and Home Media Engine applications are now supported.

Series2 TiVo systems are based on MIPS processors connected to MPEG-2 encoder/decoder chips and high-capacity IDE/ATA hard drives. Current Series2 units have drives of 40–250GB in size. Although not supported by TiVo or equipment manufacturers, larger drives can be added.

Series2 standalone

All standalone TiVo systems have coax/RF-in and an internal cable-ready tuner, analog video input—composite/RCA, and S-Video—for use with an external cable box or satellite receiver. The TiVo unit can use a serial cable or IR blasters to control the external receiver. They have coax/RF, composite/RCA, and S-Video output, and the DVD systems also have component out. Audio is RCA stereo, and the DVD systems also have digital optical out. The Series2 systems also have USB ports, currently used only to support network (wired Ethernet and WiFi) adapters. The early Series2 units, models starting with 110/130/140, have USB 1.1 hardware, while all other systems have USB 2.0.

Some models manufactured by Toshiba, Pioneer, and Humax, under license from TiVo, contain DVD-R/RW drives. The models can transfer recordings from the built-in hard drive to DVD Video compliant disc, playable in most modern DVD systems. The video encoding on these models was modified to match the DVD standard so transferring to DVD does not require transcoding.

The Series2 standalones can only tune analog signals, so to comply with FCC rules on analog TV phaseout, models that record from over-the-air channels are no longer sold. The dual tuner (DT) models and the TCD542 (a revision of the TCD540) will only record from cable and satellite sources.

Series2 DirecTV

Some TiVo systems are integrated with DirecTV receivers. These "DirecTiVo" recorders record the incoming satellite MPEG-2 digital stream directly to hard disk without conversion. Because of this and the fact that they have two tuners, DirecTiVos are able to record two programs at once. In addition, the lack of digital conversion allows recorded video to be of the same quality as live video. DirecTiVos have no MPEG encoder chip, and can only record DirecTV streams. However, DirecTV has disabled the networking capabilities on their systems, meaning DirecTiVo does not offer such features as multi-room viewing or TiVoToGo. Only the standalone systems can be networked without additional unsupported hacking.

The HR10-250 DirecTiVo units can also record HDTV to a 250GB hard drive, both from the DirecTV stream and over-the-air via a standard UHF- or VHF-capable antenna. They have four tuners (two DirecTV and two ATSC over-the-air) and, like the original DirecTiVo, can record two programs at once; further, the program guide is integrated between over-the-air and DirecTV so that all programs can be recorded and viewed in the same manner. Recording capacity is variable, up to 30 HD or 200 SD hours.

On July 8, 2006, DirecTV announced an upgrade to version 6.3 of the TiVo software for the HR10-250, the first major upgrade since this unit was released.[4] This upgrade includes features such as program grouping (folders), a much faster on-screen guide, and new sorting features.

In October 2007, DirecTV sent a message to all DirecTV TiVo R10 and HR10 users saying that they will be applying numerous features to the DirecTiVo. It include two features:

  • Episode Recovery is a feature that will let you recover a previously deleted episode of a show. There will be a time frame of the time you could recover the episode, but the information has not been released.
  • Online Scheduling (broadcast programming) is a feature that will allow you to go to the DirecTV guide on the internet, and choose a television program to be recorded. This feature is popular with the TiVo Brand DVR's, but DirecTV's contract with TiVo did not allow them to implement the online features of the DirecTiVo.

Series3 TiVo HD

Type Manufacturer Model Capacity Notes Software Version
Hours
HD/SD		 GB
Standalone TiVo TCD648250B (aka TiVo Series3 HD) 32/300 250 THX-certified, no M-Card support. 11.0m/11.0k
TCD652160 (aka TiVo HD) 20/180 160 11.0m/11.0k
TCD663160 (aka TiVo 160) 30/60 160 Australia/NZ Model, DVB-T, Dolby Digital Decoder
TCD663320 (aka TiVo 320) 60/120 320 Australia/NZ Model, DVB-T, Dolby Digital Decoder
TCD658000 (aka TiVo HD XL) 150/1,350 1,024 THX-certified 11.0m/11.0k

The Series3 TiVo was officially unveiled at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show,[5] and was released to the public on September 12, 2006. In April 2010, it was superseded by the Series 4 "TiVo Premiere" and is supported but no longer manufactured by TiVo for North American markets.

The Series3 DVR features support for high-definition broadcasts and has two tuners. In North America, they each can receive analog and HDTV over-the-air (NTSC and ATSC) in addition to both analog and digital cable (QAM). Encrypted digital cable is decoded through CableCARDs available from the cable providers. As of September 2009 satellite TV connections are not supported. In Australia and New Zealand, the dual tuners support the recording of two digital (DVB-T) over-the-air signals at the same time, whilst playing back a third.

With the dual tuners, it can record or view any two sources simultaneously. For example, two over-the-air broadcasts, two cable programs, or any combination can be recorded at the same time. The initial hardware release (TCD648250B) was unable to take advantage of Multi-Stream CableCARDs and required the use of a pair of CableCARDs to enable its dual tuners with encrypted digital cable. The followup Series3 models had an option of using either one Multi-Stream card or two single stream cards.

Switched Digital Video (SDV), a technology which allows cable providers to only send the channel streams being watched instead of the entire channel lineup in order to better manage bandwidth, requires a USB attachment to a separate tuning adapter available from the cable providers.

One HDMI port and two sets of component, S-video, and composite outputs are included. The Series 3 is also the first DVR to feature THX-certified audio and video. The unit is also equipped with two USB 2.0 ports, a Fast Ethernet port, and a telephone modem, which are all used to connect to the TiVo service. The built-in wired Ethernet or an optional USB 802.11 wireless adapter can download video on demand from various providers. Multi-room viewing and transferring programs to and from a PC is allowed. HD content may only be transferred between Series 3 units.

A Series 3 can be connected to several types of televisions and if necessary convert to the appropriate resolution. This allows displaying HD channels on older TVs using composite or s-video connections.

Storage can be increased to 2 TB by replacement of the hard drive—something that can be done professionally, but is usually done by users familiar with how to perform PC drive replacement. An external SATA port allows up to 1TB in additional storage when using TiVo-certified external hard drives.

  • CPU: Broadcom BCM7038
  • RAM: 128 MB for general CPU use- more for the encoders

Limited Support for Series 1 - 3 models

Series 1-3 models, now have limited support but are no longer distributed for North American markets. With the release of the Bolt UES (Series 6) model, TiVo's CMO Ira Bahr publically stated on October 2, 2015, the following in regards to S1-S3 TiVo units: "Specifically, if a box is on a monthly plan, AND the account gets cancelled, we will not re-activate it. PLS [Product Lifetime Service] boxes are exempt of course. And yes, we will transfer account ownership on these [PLS boxes]. We presently have no plans to discontinue the TiVo Service to any active TiVo device."

Series4 TiVo Premiere

Type Manufacturer Model Capacity Tuners Notes Software Version
Hours
HD/SD		 GB
Standalone TiVo TCD746320 (aka TiVo Premiere, 2010 model)[6] 45/400 320 2 1080p, 1 M-Card slot, HD interface, optional qwerty remote 20.5.6
TCD746500 (aka TiVo Premiere, 2012 model)[7] 75/650 500 2 2012 upgrade of TiVo Premiere, additional recording capacity 20.5.6
TCD748000 (aka TiVo Premiere XL)[8] 150/1,350 1,024 2 Premium remote, THX certification 20.5.6
TCD750500 (aka TiVo Premiere 4)[9] 75/650 500 4 20.5.6
TCD758250 (aka TiVo Premiere Elite/XL4)[10] 300/2,200 2,048 4 Premium remote, THX certification 20.5.6
DirecTV THR22-100 (aka TiVo DirecTV DVR)[11] 61/529 500 2 DirecTV Exclusive 20.4.7
Virgin Media Cisco Systems CT8685DVB (aka Virgin Media TiVo)[12] 150/1,350 1,024 3 UK-only, HD interface, 10-Mbit/s dedicated line 20.4.3
CT8620DVB (aka Virgin Media TiVo)[13] 75/675 500 3 UK-only, HD interface, 10-Mbit/s dedicated line 20.4.3
Virgin Media Samsung SMT-C7100 (aka Virgin Media TiVo) 75/500 500 3 UK-only, HD interface, 10-Mbit/s, (Successor of Cisco Systems CT8620DVB) 20.4.3
SMT-7101 (aka Virgin Media TiVo) 150/1,350 1,024 3 UK-only, HD interface, 10Mbit/s, (Successor of Cisco Systems CT8685DVB) 20.4.3
Canal Digital Technicolor SA DSI803[14] 45/400 320 2 Scandinavia-only 20.4.7

The Series4 TiVo Premiere was officially unveiled on March 2, 2010,[15] and was released to the public on March 28, 2010. The higher end Premiere model features a more sophisticated remote and larger hard drive. The TiVo Premiere has the features of the Series 3 TiVos with the addition of support for 1080p high definition video, and a new high definition user interface using Haxe.[16] It is also Energy Star compliant after cutting power consumption by 35% to 45%. The slimmer unit relies on a single Multi-stream CableCARD ("M-Card") slot and uses a dual core processor delivering greater performance. Communication speeds are claimed to be 3 to 5 times faster than a TiVo HD, and supports an optional QWERTY keyboard remote that communicates via Bluetooth (recently discontinued) . Like the Series 3, it does not support analog video input from devices such as satellite television or AT&T U-verse set top boxes as does the Series 2 TiVos. The new user interface is meant to seamlessly integrate features such as Rhapsody, Netflix, Amazon, Blockbuster, Hulu, and YouTube video, and make development of such applications easier through use of Adobe Stagecraft (Flash Lite 3.1 + Actionscript 2.0). The operating system enhancement allows third party Flash applications similar to those possible with HME, and other Flash Lite consumer devices such as Chumby. Such applications will be available from TiVo's application store.[17]

Hardware:

  • CPU: Broadcom BCM7413 400MHZ dual core 1100 Dhrystone MIPS vs. TiVo HD's 400 DMIPS
  • RAM: 512 MB
  • Encoder: Trident SAA7164 MPEG-2 encoder (for analog cable programs)

Series5 TiVo Roamio

Type Manufacturer Model Capacity Tuners Notes Software Version
Hours
HD/SD		 TB
Standalone TiVo TCD846510 (aka TiVo Roamio OTA)[18] 75/500 0.5 4 Tuners OTA only, built-in Wi-Fi, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video, YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify 20.5.6
TCD846500 (aka TiVo Roamio S)[19] 75/500 0.5 4 Tuners OTA or digital cable but not both at the same time, built-in Wi-Fi, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video, YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify 20.5.6
TCD848000 (aka TiVo Roamio Plus)[20] 150/1,000 1 6 Tuners through digital cable only, built-in Wi-Fi, TiVo Stream, Remote Finder, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video, YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify 20.5.6
TCD840300 (aka TiVo Roamio Pro)[21] 450/3,000 3 6 Tuners through digital cable only, built-in Wi-Fi, TiVo Stream, Remote Finder, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video, YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify 20.5.6
TBA (aka TiVo Mega)[22] 4,000/26,000 24 6 Tuners through digital cable only, built-in Wi-Fi, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video, YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify 20.4.8
RCN[23] TiVo T6 150/1,000 1 6 Tuners through digital cable only, built-in Wi-Fi, Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify 20.4.8
Grande[24] 150/1,000 1 6 Tuners through digital cable only, built-in Wi-Fi, Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify 20.4.8
Atlantic Broadband[25] 150/1,000 1 6 Tuners through digital cable only, built-in Wi-Fi, Netflix, YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify 20.4.8

Hardware:

Series6 TiVo Bolt

Type Manufacturer Model Capacity Tuners Notes Software Version
Hours
HD/SD		 TB
Standalone TiVo TCD849500 75/500 0.5 4 Tuners OTA or digital cable, 4K capable, built-in Wi-Fi, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify 20.5.6
TCD849000 150/1000 1 4 Tuners OTA or digital cable, 4K capable, built-in Wi-Fi, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, YouTube, Pandora, and Spotify 20.5.6

Other TiVo hardware

TiVo Mini

Type Manufacturer Model Capacity Notes Software Version
Hours
HD/SD		 GB
Standalone TiVo TCDA92000 (aka TiVo Mini, 2013 model)[26] n/a n/a borrows tuner from host DVR over Ethernet or MoCA connection; Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video, Pandora, and Spotify; includes IR remote. 20.5.6
TCDA93000 (aka TiVo Mini, 2015 model)[27] n/a n/a borrows tuner from host DVR over Ethernet or MoCA connection; Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video, Pandora, and Spotify; includes RF remote. 20.5.6

TiVo Stream

An add on accessory box, the TiVo Stream allows streaming playback or downloads from Premiere or Roamio TiVo boxes to iPhone and Android smartphones.

Through a process called transcoding, the video format cable companies are converted to another video format that the mobile phones can handle playing. This utilizes specialized chips from a manufacturercalled Zenverge, which was acquired by Freescale.

TiVo App

TiVo announced an iPad app on November 22, 2010. The app allows customers to manage their TiVos from their iPad.[28]

The TiVo Companion App for iPad was released in the weeks following its announcement.

The app works with TiVo Premiere, Premiere XL, Premiere 4, Premiere XL4, and Roamio boxes. Limited functionality is also available for Series 3 devices.

TiVo also released apps for the iPhone and Android devices. TiVo's Director of Retail and Channel Marketing, Bard Williams, stated the app: "...offers ... complete control over management and program selection, a multi-touch remote that features gestures-based navigation, and the ability to manage and navigate Season Pass recording, your queue and info about cast, crew, similar shows – without interrupting your TV experience...When you're not at home, the app still lets you interact with your Premiere for basic management and recording tasks."[29]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.broadcom.com/collateral/pb/7317-PB02-R.pdf
  2. ↑ http://www.broadcom.com/collateral/pb/7318-PB01-R.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.broadcom.com/collateral/pb/7040-PB07-R.pdf
  4. ↑ http://directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=P3200006
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=519125
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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